Hard Rock
Billy Idol to Receive First Hollywood Walk of Fame Star of 2023
Billy Idol will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this week, making him the first honoree of 2023. The ceremony was originally set to take place this Thursday (January 5th), but heavy rain in the forecast has led to it being rescheduled for Friday (January 6th). “There will be lots of rebels yelling for their favorite rock star Billy Idol when he receives his well-deserved Walk of Fame star,” stated Ana Martinez, producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “Since the beginning of his career Billy Idol has held the hearts of many of his fans who finally will be able to visit his star and witness his induction into the Walk of Fame.” The music icon has certainly had a legendary career, first as lead singer of the UK punk band Generation X in the late ’70s and then as a multi-platinum ...
Iggy Pop Was Once Approached About Fronting AC/DC
Iggy Pop has revealed that he was once approached about becoming the frontman of AC/DC. “They had a manager many years ago, when I hadn’t re-formed The Stooges, I hadn’t moved to England,” Iggy told the New York Times. “And this guy said, ‘Are you interested in joining AC/DC?’ They were looking for a singer.” Though it’s not clear exactly when he was asked to join the band, the timeline likely puts the encounter around the time AC/DC formed in 1973 or perhaps when original frontman Dave Evans departed and when Bon Scott took over as lead singer — sometime around 1974. Related Video “I listened to their record. I thought, I can’t fit that bill,” Iggy admitted. “I wasn’t, like, ‘Ugh, I don’t like them.’ It was quite well made. They do careful work, but I’m not what they needed.” Advertisemen...
David Lee Roth: Working with Eddie Van Halen Was “Better Than Any Love Affair”
David Lee Roth and the Van Halen camp haven’t always seen eye to eye, but the singer recently offered some touching remarks while reflecting on his longtime bandmate, the late Eddie Van Halen. Roth opened up about his working relationship with the guitar legend on his The Roth Show podcast earlier this week. DLR famously left Van Halen in 1985 to pursue a successful solo career, and multiple failed attempts to patch things up would eventually give way to Roth rejoining the band in 2007. Roth and Eddie Van Halen appeared to be on good terms when Eddie passed away in 2020. “My dear departed Ed,” Roth said on his podcast (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “Boy, I miss him. I had a ball with Ed. Walt Disney once said, ‘You know what? My love affair with Mickey Mouse was better than any love aff...
Ranking Every Ozzy Osbourne Solo Album from Worst to Best
Welcome to Dissected, where we disassemble a band’s catalog, a director’s filmography, or some other critical pop-culture collection in the abstract. It’s exact science by way of a few beers. This time, we follow Ozzy Osbourne’s solo career from the masterful Blizzard of Ozz to what, for now, remains his last solo disc, 2022’s Patient Number 9. The man born John Michael Osbourne in Birmingham, England, on December 3, 1948, didn’t become the Prince of Darkness overnight. First rising to fame as the vocalist for Black Sabbath — the first heavy metal band — Ozzy Osbourne became as notorious for his drinking and drug habits as he was for his singing. Ozzy hit a turning point in his life when touring with Black Sabbath in 1979. His habit was bad, and maybe worse, every night a young, hotshot ba...
Brian Johnson Has “Been Told Not to” Discuss AC/DC’s Future Plans
Brian Johnson has apparently been told to not to speak about AC/DC’s future plans, including whether or not the band will tour again. The singer was very guarded in a new interview with Eddie Trunk on Sirius XM’s Trunk Nation, refusing to answer some questions about the band’s touring and recording plans. Johnson hasn’t performed with AC/DC since departing their 2016 “Rock or Bust Tour” due to hearing loss, and the band hasn’t played live since September 20th of that year (when Axl Rose had filled in on vocals). When asked by Trunk if AC/DC would perform live again, Johnson replied [as transcribed by Blabbermouth]: “I’m not answering that. Why should I? First of all, there’s five members in this band, and to ask one member isn’t fair.” Advertisement Related Video Johnson returned to AC/DC ...
Beyond the Boys’ Club: Pioneering Rocker Leather Leone
Beyond the Boys’ Club is a monthly column from journalist and radio host Anne Erickson, focusing on women in the heavy music genres, as they offer their perspectives on the music industry and discuss their personal experiences. Erickson is also a music artist herself and has a new EP and single out, “Last Love,” with Upon Wings. The latest edition of Beyond the Boys’ Club features an interview with Leather Leone. Throughout the 1980s, Leather Leone was a strong voice in metal music. From her early days in Rude Girl to her high-profile performances with guitar icon David T. Chastain’s band Chastain, Leone was one of the pioneers for women in heavy music. After a long break away from the music scene, Leather is as active in the industry as ever. She recently released her third solo album, We...
Fix Stuff: Fred Durst and Limp Bizkit Offer to Help Elon Musk Run Twitter
If you’re worried about the future of Twitter under the guidance of soon-to-be-former CEO Elon Musk, worry no more! Fred Durst and his merry band of Limp Bizkit mates are here to save the day. The nu-metal frontman has offered his services to the multibillionaire mogul in the form of a … tweet. It’s been a rough go of it in the two months since Musk closed the deal on the purchasing Twitter for $44 billion. Under his guidance, the company has laid off half its staff, instituted an $8-per-month blue verification check mark, and banned some journalists from the platform, among other lowlights. Most recently, he promised to step down as CEO as soon as he finds “someone foolish enough to take the job.” But never fear, y’all! Durst and company are ready to do their part to turn it all around. “...
Puddle of Mudd’s Wes Scantlin Admits His Infamous Nirvana Cover “Looked and Sounded Like Total Shit”
Roughly three years ago, Puddle of Mudd frontman Wes Scantlin performed a cover of Nirvana’s “About a Girl” that got all sorts of attention for all the wrong reasons. In a new interview, the rock singer freely admits that the performance “looked and sounded like shit.” During a visit to SiriusXM in early 2020, Scantlin was joined by his Puddle of Mudd bandmates for an acoustic rendition of the Nirvana classic. While the rest of the band sounded fine, Scantlin was painfully off-key. Surely enough, the video went viral, with Scantlin initially responding, “Rise above others who try and take you down… Jealousy is toxic, and toxic people are a waste of time. We walk away with nothing but a SMILE.” Now, in a new conversation with SongFacts, Scantlin offered a bit of an excuse, but also didn’t h...
Greta Van Fleet on New Album: “We’re Wrapping It Up as We Speak”
Greta Van Fleet have revealed that they are nearing the completion of their third full-length album. The Michigan band offered the update in an interview with Heavy Consequence during the “black carpet” ceremony ahead of Metallica’s “Helping Hands” benefit concert (for which Greta Van Fleet served as the support act). “We are wrapping it up as we speak,” drummer Danny Wagner said of the follow-up to 2021’s The Battle at Garden’s Gate. “It’s nearing completion, and we’re very excited about it.” Related Video Added bassist Sam Kiszka: “It’s conceptually going back to almost the days in the garage, with the raw energy of the sound. But expanding on that because we’re the best musicians we’ve ever been.” Advertisement Wagner jumped in to clarify, “Not [the best musicians] that have ever been, ...
Top 30 Metal and Hard Rock Songs of 2022
Our 2022 Annual Report continues with our Top 30 Metal and Hard Rock Songs list. As the year winds down, stay tuned for more awards, lists, and articles about the best music, film, and TV of 2022. You can find it all in one place here. Heavy music has reached a golden age of sorts. The family tree of genres continues to branch out, with artists finding new ways to expand upon the styles of the past. For example, Spirit Adrift are a loving update on vintage thrash and doom, while a band such as Boris seek to constantly test themselves with new sounds and concepts. Any and every sonic direction is viable, and that’s the beauty of it …a never-ending well of art that has tirelessly evolved into a aural universe unto itself. This year offered some welcome surprises and reunions, such as the ret...
Hellfest 2023 Lineup: Iron Maiden, Pantera, Slipknot, KISS, Mötley Crüe, and More
Hellfest Open Air has announced its 2023 lineup, and once again it’s a mammoth list of the biggest metal and hard rock bands in the world. Iron Maiden, Pantera, Slipknot, KISS, Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, and more than 170 other acts have signed on for the four-day extravaganza, taking place June 15th-18th in Clisson, France. This past year, Hellfest staged an unprecedented seven-day festival, making up for lost time due to the pandemic. In 2023, the French fest is returning to a four-day event, but the lineup is still quite impressive. Joining the aforementioned acts are Hollywood Vampires (the supergroup featuring Alice Cooper, Joe Perry and Johnny Depp), Tenacious D, Rancid, Porcupine Tree, Sum 41, Behemoth, Fishbone, Coheed and Cambria, Amon Amarth,, Puscifer, Machine Gun Kelly, Meshugga...
2023 Welcome to Rockville Lineup: Pantera, Tool, Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold and More
Welcome to Rockville Festival has revealed its 2023 lineup, and it’s absolutely jam-packed with many of the biggest names in rock and metal. The four-day fest features headliners Pantera, Tool, Slipknot, and Avenged Sevenfold, plus dozens of other notable acts. Taking place May 18th-21st at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Flordia, the 2023 edition of Welcome to Rockville also boasts such acts as Deftones, Queens of the Stone Age, Godsmack, Rob Zombie, Evanescence, Alice Cooper, Incubus, The Mars Volta, and more. Four-day passes are available via the official festival site. Slipknot will headline on Thursday (May 18th), and will be joined by Rob Zombie, QOTSA, Puscifer, Trivium, Bullet for My Valentine, Black Veil Brides, Suicidal Tendencies, Avatar, Converge, Band-Maid...
